As students across Canada return to school this week, they'll face a new reality: stricter rules on cellphone use in the classroom.
An expert says the upsides of a cellphone ban are clear — the mere presence of a cellphone, even if it's not in use, can hinder a student's ability to focus.
"We know from some really good studies that when the cellphone is in a child's desk or in their backpack, their ability to attend to the work in front of them is significantly decreased versus when the cellphone is in another room beside them," explains clinical child psychologist Todd Cunningham in a CTV News Channel interview Tuesday.
Cunningham says cellphone bans will allow students to listen to their teachers, do the work in front of them and engage in social conversations within and outside the classroom environment.
Ontario students from kindergarten to Grade 6 must keep their phones on silent and out of sight for the entire school day starting this year. Cellphones cannot be used during class time for students in Grade 7 to Grade 12. The province has said cellphones may only be used if permitted by a teacher or if students have special education or medical needs.
While the policy has been met with some pushback, Cunningham says it is not surprising, as "anytime we have these big changes, there's a lot of anxiety that gets developed."
Cunningham says we are a society connected to our phones and see them as important tools for getting bits of information on a regular basis. When that is removed from us, we start to feel a little lost, he says.
More provinces have announced cellphone bans, including British Columbia's "bell-to-bell" rule and Saskatchewan.
Manitoba, Alberta, Quebec and Nova Scotia have also moved to curb cellphone use in schools.
Cunningham notes that the pull of smartphones is particularly problematic for students who already struggle with attention issues. "Individuals who have attention-related difficulties, they actually gravitate to entertainment devices, social media devices, because they're getting more of what their brains are actually missing, and so that draws them in more."
According to Cunningham, 30 per cent of youth spend three hours or more a day on their phones. "That's three hours a day they're not talking with their peers around them, developing those social skills of being present to listen and having drawn-out conversations," he says.
Cunningham adds that if kids are encouraged to limit their cellphone use in classrooms, adults must model it too.
"If we're expecting our children to start to do this, as we come through the front door at the end of the day, we need to put our phones down too," Cunningham advises. "We need to be attuned to the family members around us, or when we're sitting down at the dinner table, or even when we're driving."
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